Oreo Cookie Balls

Ok, I admit it. I like Oreos. I kind of love Oreos, actually. Generally I am NOT a fan of store-bought cookies. They’re dry and either tasteless or terribly sweet without any actual flavor. Don’t’ get me wrong – I’m not against sweetness….I’m writing about desserts for God’s sake. But when that’s all something has going for it, I say stay away. Seriously, have an apple instead.

Store-bought cookies usually remind me of a diner my grandmother used to take my brother and I to when we were little. It was a typical Jersey diner where the menu is about 50 pages long and you can pretty much get anything there. I think at that age my go-to was probably the pizza bagel with a side of fries. Jersey diners make a mean pizza bagel and fries. Which I want right now because I still remember how good they were.

After dinner, of course, we got dessert. This diner – like every other Jersey diner – had a refrigerated, glass-encased tiered carousel near the front door which displayed the most beautiful cakes. Seriously, they were gorgeous. They came in many colors – white brown, pink, blue…you name it. And they were beautifully decorated. Even as a kid, I was all about the baked goods – I saw that carousel and I wanted a slice. And every time I was disappointed. Every. Single. Time.

The problem was, while the cakes looked amazing…they all tasted the same. Sweet, with no actual flavor to them. Brown wasn’t chocolate or mocha, white wasn’t vanilla, pink wasn’t strawberry. Every color was just sweet. And I never learned my lesson – I kept hoping and expecting that the NEXT time the cake would be great….basically that it would taste like a cake my mom or grandmother made. And it never ever did.

This is my opinion of most store-bought cookies. They may look great, but they’re sweet. End of story.

Oreos, though are very different. Sure they’re sweet – remember I said I don’t mind that. But they have flavor. People are always talking about the filling, and that’s great but personally I think it’s the cookie part that really delivers. It’s just got a nice chocolate flavor and it’s not too sweet – it lets the filling do that work and they work beautifully together.

So, you’ll occasionally (maybe more than occasionally) see me using Oreos as actually part of the recipe. Frankly, I’m just stealing their delicious flavor and repackaging it into a different shape. But here’s the thing – for these cookie balls, you don’t have to tell anyone that they’re made from Oreos. Don’t call them Oreo Cookie Balls, just call them Kiki’s Cookie Balls (or whatever your name is) and when someone ask you how you made them, just tell them it’s a family secret. They’ll recognize the Oreo flavor – kind of – but not really be able to place it. When someone does, just say “awesome – that’s what I was going for!”

Ingredients

· 36 Oreo cookies

· 1 package cream cheese (8 ounces), softened

· 2 bags, white chocolate chips (12 oz. each)

Seriously…that’s all the ingredients you need and you’ll completely transform these things. Now, since there are only three ingredients, my guess is that you can probably figure out how to make these without my help.

But I’ll tell you anyway.

Pulverize the Oreos. I use my mini food processor, but you can also use a rolling pin and a large plastic sandwich bag. Or, you know, a big mallet and anger issues. Basically you just want the cookies to go from cookies to cookie crumbs.

Mix the cookie crumbs with the cream cheese – you’ll probably need to do this with your hands. Then, roll them into balls, about an inch across or however big you want them.

Put them on a cookie sheet and freeze them for about 15 minutes. They won’t be “frozen” but they’ll be easier to handle. You can also leave them in there longer.Melt the white chocolate chips in a double boiler.

Dip the balls in the melted chips and place them onto a cookie sheet lined with waxed paper. Refrigerate the balls for at least an hour after they’ve been dipped so that the outer layer hardens. Then just transfer them to a zippered sandwich bag and leave them in the fridge until you’re ready to serve them. So good!

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Ugly Advice

Watch your oven! The cook times here are “ish” as in “cook for 8 minutes-ish”. I say this because not all ovens are the same. Your oven at 350° may actually run at 340°, while someone else’s may run at 365°. That’s fine – just watch the desserts on the first baking sheet or so to make sure they don’t burn. Then adjust the times so they make sense for you.